FIRE intervened at Texas Tech when students recognized its overbroad policies, which include a speech code that prohibited "insults," "ridicule," and "personal attacks," and restricted free speech to twenty foot-diameter gazebo referred to as a "Free Speech Zone." With FIRE's coordination and support, along with the Liberty Legal Institute and the Alliance Defense Fund, the students successfully sought and achieved elimination of the overbroad speech code. Covered widely in the media, the case at Texas Tech also drew support from over 900 students, who signed a petition for free speech on campus, as well as a student organization, Students for Free Speech (SFS), that staged a mock-funeral for free speech, including carrying a wooden coffin through campus in a procession. As FIRE's third victory in its Speech Code Litigation project, Texas Tech demonstrated once again that courts are ruthlessly intolerant of unconstitutional policies at public universities.
Case Materials
"Victory for Free Speech at Texas Tech," FIRE Press Release, October 5, 2004: In another victory for free speech on America's public campuses, a federal judge struck down Texas Tech University's speech code, ordered large areas of the university to be opened to free expression, and prohibited the university from enforcing other severe limitations on speech. Texas Tech was the third victory in FIRE's ongoing Speech Codes Litigation Project, which aims to overturn public college and university speech codes across the nation.
"Texas Tech Loosens Speech Restrictions, But Some Repressive Policies Remain," FIRE Press Release, December 9, 2003: In response to the pressure of a lawsuit coordinated by FIRE, Texas Tech University has gone from one tiny "Free Speech Gazebo" to acres of free speech zones, but too many speech restrictions remain. While the legal pressure on the university continues, students at Texas Tech have held events like a "funeral for free speech" to protest the "death" of free speech on their campus.
"Lawsuit Challenges Speech Code and “Free Speech Gazebo” at Texas Tech," FIRE Press Release, June 12, 2003: Today, FIRE Legal Network attorneys launched a legal challenge to the unconstitutional speech code at Texas Tech University. This is the third lawsuit in FIRE’s national campaign to end the scandal of speech codes on America’s college and university campuses.
"UNCG in free speech battle," Jane Stancill, News & Observer, December 17, 2005: “UNCG’s implementation of ‘free speech zones’ is a perversion of constitutional and statutory law and has no place at an institution committed to intellectual rigor, robust debate and a free and vibrant community,” wrote Robert Shibley of FIRE in a Dec. 5 letter to UNCG Chancellor Patricia Sullivan.
"Free speech policy called into question," Maria Kornalian, The Daily Aztec (SDSU), October 24, 2005: As an American citizen, one has a constitutional right to have and state opinions, but officials at college campuses around the country say there is a time and a place for it.
"Wronging student rights," Greg Lukianoff, The Boston Globe, September 3, 2005: As summer ends and college students return to campus, a number of dreadful court decisions may cause them to wonder if their rights have taken a permanent vacation.
"Liberating America’s Intellectual Gulags," Charles Mitchell, Campus Magazine, April 15, 2005: French, the new President of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, graduated from Harvard Law School in the early 1990s. One might say that anyone with similar credentials ought to know the definition of intimidation – but French’s experience is a bit more personal than that.
"Colleges Must Educate Students About Value of Free Speech," Greg Lukianoff, Daily Journal, December 29, 2004: For those of you who are concerned about the state of free expression on campus, I would like to introduce you to Texas Tech University's "Free Speech Gazebo." The Gazebo is only 20 feet wide, and in early 2003, it was the sole area on campus where students could engage in free-speech activities - demonstrations, speeches or even handing out pamphlets - without clearing it with the university a minimum of six days in advance.
"Texas Tech's 'Free-Speech Zones' Are Unconstitutional, Judge Rules," Scott Smallwood, The Chronicle of Higher Education, October 15, 2004: A federal judge has struck down "free-speech zones" at Texas Tech University, ruling unconstitutional a requirement that students who wish to give speeches must stay within a designated area.
"Fraternities Must Stand Up to Schools' Squelching Free Speech," Greg Lukianoff and Matthew Vasconcellos, The Daily Journal, October 11, 2004:
While there is no shortage of free-speech battles on college campuses, fraternities have the dubious honor of being at the center of many of the least-sympathetic controversies.
"Federal judge blocks free speech zones at Texas Tech," Associated Press, October 2, 2004: A federal judge has struck down a policy at Texas Tech requiring students to make public speeches in special free-speech zones.
"Practical Advice for Fraternities Caught in the Battle for Free Speech on Campus," Matthew Vasconcellos and Greg Lukianoff, Fraternal Law, September 16, 2004: In this month’s issue of Fraternal Law, FIRE Legal Director Greg Lukianoff and legal researcher Matt Vasconcellos offer important advice to fraternities that find themselves (often unwillingly) involved in the battle for free speech on campus.
"Confronting the campus radicals," Phyllis Schlafly, Copley News Service, January 7, 2004: David Horowitz thinks that anybody who cares about the future should confront the fact that U.S. colleges and universities are the fountainhead of financing for the radical movement in America. He has personally taken up the challenge to do something about this.
"Survey: many college students fuzzy on first amendment rights," Associated Press, Black Issues in Higher Education, January 1, 2004: PHILADELPHIA -- One out of four college students in a nationwide survey was unable to name any of the freedoms protected by the First Amendment, according to a free-speech watchdog group.
